Continued miniaturization and expanded functionality represent two long-term trends in the consumer electronics industry. Both trends operate in opposition, and so continuously drive a need for user interfaces that are sufficiently large in size and intuitive for consumer acceptance on the one hand, yet facilitating ever-increasing functionality on the other. These competing constraints are especially acute with portable devices, which span a variety of functions that typically operate on non-standardized operating system platforms. The result is that mobile terminals, personal digital assistants, wireless email devices (e.g., Blackberry®, and the like each employ a user interface different from the other mobile devices. As these devices become more ubiquitous and product life cycles diminish, the average consumer is willing to devote less time to learning any individual system platform. As such, user interfaces must remain intuitive while still enabling the increased functionality of the underlying device. A consumer using several disparate devices must especially adapt readily to each user interface, else a device's increased capabilities will go unused and unrecognized by the consumer.
Two developments have greatly enabled more compact devices to maintain an intuitive user interface that enables many consumers to intuitively explore various capabilities of a portable device: soft keys and touch screens. A soft key is a button that executes different functions depending upon actions taken previously. The specific function of a soft key at any given time is typically displayed on a display screen immediately adjacent to the key itself, so a user needs merely read a one or two word description of the current soft key function. The touch screen enables the ‘keys’ to be on the display itself. In addition to enabling a text display next to each soft key to describe its current function, a touch screen also enables the manufacturer to enlarge the screen itself since fewer if any physical keys need be disposed immediately adjacent to the screen. Many device manufacturers have refined their touch screens to operate with a stylus, enabling more functions to be displayed on a single screen graphic and precision selection by the stylus as opposed to the relatively outsized adult man's finger.
One prior art touch screen device and method is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,404,458. A pointing device moved across the surface of a touch screen generates positional information. Motion of the pointing device is recognized depending upon a response of a delay timer, so that the computer system coupled to the touch screen may accept the input information in a mouse-emulating mode. However, this description appears limited to emulate only the most basic mouse functions, such as those done by a single button mouse. Like many user interfaces, mouse input devices have not remained stagnant but have added additional inputs such as a second and third button, a wheel, etc, to access different functions of underlying computer programs.
Another prior art device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,537,608 as an apparatus having a touch screen user interface and a navigation utility file for initiating execution of files and monitoring the sequence in which file execution occurs. The navigation utility maintains a stack in the memory into which the calling sequences of files are stored according to the order in which the files were executed.
Currently, certain individual portable electronic devices seek to converge multiple functions previously handled by separate devices. For example, several models of mobile phones now include a personal digital assistant, video gaming capability, wireless internet compatibility, instant messaging, debit/credit account access, and a digital camera. Ideally, each of these separate functions is interoperable with other functions of the same device. For example, a digital picture taken with the camera may be sent via email to an acquaintance whose contact information is stored in the digital assistant, or instant messaging may be used to initiate a multi-player video game among the multiple players. Additionally, wireless protocols such as Bluetooth™ have become more standardized, enabling printers, faxes, and the functions of other peripheral equipment to be readily controlled by and incorporated into portable devices such as mobile stations. This interoperability across what were once disparate platforms drives a new need for improvements in user interfaces, especially interfaces of portable electronic devices that are more constrained in size and more multi-functional. The present invention is directed toward such an improved interface that may be used in portable or non-portable electronic computing devices.
As may be appreciated, what is needed in the art is a technique to better enable a user to transition from a display of a graphical image to another computer program or function, such as printing or emailing the graphical image. Small electronic devices carrying many computer programs that perform multiple disparate functions are sometimes confusing or frustrating in moving between programs, or in executing one program that differs from the active program displaying the image. Such a technique is preferably operable with a touch sensitive display screen.